before & after: london flat makeover

I’ve always loved exposed brick walls inside homes, but it can be difficult to bring warmth and coziness to these industrial spaces. I love so many elements in this apartment renovation from Cassidy Hughes, an interior designer living in London: the open shelving in the kitchen, the minimal new bathroom layout and the eye-catching citron-colored quilted sofa in the living room, just to name a few. This space feels relaxed and lived in but not overcrowded, and I love that they kept the salvaged look consistent throughout with industrial-style lighting fixtures and rustic furniture pieces. Nicely done, Cassidy! — Kate

Have a Before & After you’d like to share? Shoot me an email with your images right here! (Low res, under 500k per image, please.)

Basic Steps:The apartment is a warehouse conversion, so the goal was to embrace the industrial feel of space. I think the most helpful advice I could give someone trying to achieve this look is knowing where to spend money and being very creative and diverse in your sourcing. The lighting was a vital aspect to achieving this look, so we spent a lot of time and money finding the perfect ones.

The dining table and bench, however, were great market finds, originally from a pub in Germany and a steal at £300. The kitchen is a perfect example of this; we mixed high-end appliances with Ikea cabinets and sink. Don’t be afraid to make bold choices, and trust your instinct. For me, it was the sofa that was met with initial reservations from almost everyone, but even the skeptics agree that it ended up being perfect for the space. — Cassidy

If you are looking for a similar bench and table: it’s called a “Bierzeltgarnitur” and costs between 60 and 200€. That is new and complete with one table and two benches. They are usually used outside in the summer. I fear those rather sharp metal feet will be scraping the floor soon…

oh yes, love that sofa! Its grid texture perfect with grid of the brick, but with the fab contrast of soft/hard, AND the colour! (oh, but I do agree with Christina about those metal feet scraping over wooden floors….)

The sofa isn’t my style, but works so well with this flat. The ottoman would be a great accent though.
The only thing I would change is that I would have kept the wall tile in the bathroom. I have a thing for good tiles, and this looked so cute (Though the fish toilet seat did need to go.).

Wait, I don’t get it, what’s wrong with the original toilet seat? Just kidding! It’s cute and funny, but definitely didn’t fit with their style, so I guess I can understand why they chose to do without it.

What a gorgeous before and after! That couch is to die for! And I hope you kept that old toilet seat- surely that can be used for something fantastic, like a reminder how not to EVER decorate your house! :P

I don’t like the idea of keeping exposed brick in the cooking area. I personally need some kind of tiling or wipable surface as backsplash, since it easily gets dirty when sauteeing, frying, etc. Same thing for the floor area right around the cooker. Other than that, I love this London apartment.

yes, admittedly, prefer the Before w.c. as well… cannot do the sterile all white w.c. room. Love exposed brick and happy to be living with it, it feels quite warm, actually. The windows in this place are super and the floors :) only thing I’d wish for would be a bit more height for the ceiling.

@KATIE Keep the tiles??! Nearly every single new build flat has tiles like this in the UK, I’d bet every bathroom in the building looked the same! I’d also bet the space in the flat is miniscule but it doesn’t look cramped in there. Clever!

I notice they got rid of the blue kitchen cupboards too, I have to say they looked pretty unique!

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